So shares lead, draws with Robson

MANILA, Philippines -  Wesley So halved the point with Ray Robson in 54 moves of a King’s Indian Attack then watched Yaroslav Zerebukh stun defending champion Fabiano Caruana to drop to a share of the lead after seven rounds of the US Chess Championship in St. Louis, Missouri Wednesday.

So seized the initiative early but Robson, a former teammate at Webster U, came through with precise counter moves before turning the match into an opposite-colored bishops ending for the draw.

Zerebukh, meanwhile, outplayed Caruana in their Ruy Lopez showdown to snatch a shock 51-move triumph and a piece of the lead with So at 4.5 points.

The standoff also extended So’s unbeaten streak in standard chess to 63.

So is eyeing to surpass former Latvian world champion Mikhail Tal with the second longest recorded streak of 84 games.

So next faces four-time US champion Hikaru Nakamura, who also drew with Samuel Shankland to remain half a point off the pace with four points along with Varuzhan Akobian, who also split the point with Alexander Onischuk.